In order to test defenses against threats to Earth, the NASAthe American space agency, will begin this Monday (26) another phase of the Dart mission (in English: Double Redirection Test Asteroid), which intends to change the trajectory of a celestial body capable of causing problems for the planet in the future.
A plane will travel at about six kilometers per second towards meteor Dimorphos, a small moon 160 meters in diameter that revolves around the Solar System and, hopefully, the impact will change its orbit.
The result of the collision, scheduled for 20:14 with Live broadcast on the agency’s YouTube channel, they will be measured by telescopes.
The proximity to Earth allows planetary defense experts to observe and measure the impact of the spacecraft hitting the asteroid. The choice of date was deliberate, because every 770 days Didymos, the system in which Dimorphos is located, is 11 million kilometers from us.
In 2024, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Hera spacecraft will visit the cluster to analyze the collision in more detail. The mission uses elements of kinetic energy and its repeatability will also be evaluated so that it can be established as a solid technique.
NASA’s “target” is in no danger of provoking an “armageddon” itself. However, there are currently around 25,000 near-planet space-scale asteroids known to pose a threat, even with low probability – and that’s only 40% of what the total number could be.
According to the agency, the success of the mission is essential for the elaboration of a strategic plan and the execution of tests on other celestial bodies as well. “We are working on adding more space rocks to our catalog and, in the meantime, trying to figure out how to make sure none hit Earth,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, a member of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, at the launch in 2021.
In addition to fighting potential “agents of the apocalypse,” Dart also focuses on developing a standalone technology. Algorithms have been implemented in the probe that allow the travel without operator. If successful and successful, space exploration would evolve into communication – or its scrap. Currently, the information sent to ships by the command takes some time to arrive, which does not allow for “real time” control.
asteroid in russia
The drive to accelerate the development of planetary defenses was reinforced by the fall of an 18-meter-diameter asteroid in the city of Chelyabinsk, Russia, which generated a shock wave and caused damage to six municipalities. The blast injured more than 1,600 people and caused damage estimated at $ 30 million.
Despite the fright, impacts of this kind are common in Earth’s history. Every day, objects fall into the planet’s atmosphere and are burned by its natural protections. The real danger arises when the body measures more than 100 meters in diameter, as they are more likely not to disintegrate and are more difficult to detect. According to NASA, incoming meteors and comets of this type occur once every 20,000 years.
Larger asteroids, such as the one responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs nearly 66 million years ago – around 10 kilometers across – are easier to spot early. However, the technique pioneered by the American agency will still not be sufficient to prevent a global disaster, but local damage.
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